Chapter 147 - 136: Bone Elder

Chapter 147: Chapter 136: Bone ElderIn the white paper man’s hand was a long, wide pair of scissors, also made of paper, with a somewhat dull color on the surface, but whether it was the neatly severed heads of the staff or the speckled blood on the blade, they both testified to the sharpness of these scissors. Zhou Xuan lowered his hand, and a folded fan slipped from his sleeve, his left hand holding a gavel in his palm. When the iron lid on the ground opened, he smelled an intensely strong scent of blood; the stench could hardly be this strong unless at least ten people had died. Thus, Zhou Xuan concluded that a brutal bloodshed had just occurred in the hidden room below the iron lid. He hurriedly grabbed Lv Mingkun and turned to leave the shop, but they were too slow and got blocked by these two black and white paper figures. These two paper men lacked facial features, and their theatrical costumes were plain. If the black paper man stood in the darkness and the white one stood in front of a white cloth, they would indeed appear invisible. "Hee hee hee!" A sinister laugh echoed in the corridor again, and Zhou Xuan asked Lv Mingkun, "What are these two paper figures?" "Techniques of a side hall, can’t recognize them," Lv Mingkun replied, The Divine People’s halls were few but prestigious, making them easily identifiable by their methods. However, the Ghost halls were numerous, with some hidden deep, so even some veterans in the martial arts world couldn’t recognize a side hall from the Ghost domain just by their techniques. "Senior Brother Lv, engage them first so I can determine their origin," Zhou Xuan released all his perception to feel the mystery of the two paper men. Lv Mingkun, holding a Bamboo Leaf Blade, first attacked the white paper man. He had two small knives, initially tossing the White Knife from his right hand, aiming directly at the white paper man’s face. The white paper man raised the scissors to block the white Bamboo Leaf Blade, but Lv Mingkun shifted his attack to the black paper man instead. The black paper man moved with ghostly unpredictability. Just a moment ago, it was at the corner of the corridor; in the next instant, it was attached to the corridor’s ceiling. "Running?" Lv Mingkun raised his right hand, and a piece of human skin emerged from his arm, floating out swiftly and locking onto the black paper man’s aura as it pursued, yet the black paper man’s speed was almost uncatchable, though it granted Lv Mingkun a chance to catch his breath, By now, the white paper man had blocked the white Bamboo Leaf Blade with its scissors, Lv Mingkun pointed with his hand, summoning back the white knife. As it flew back and was just a foot away, Fifth Brother exerted force from his waist, the wind under his feet, spun his body in midair, and delivered a mighty kick with his left foot to the handle of the white knife, The speed of the cold white blade, initially moderate, immediately took on lightning speed with the force of this kick, slicing through the air with a howling sound, stabbing towards the white paper man’s forehead... This knife, was too fast, The white paper man raised the scissors to block again, only for both the scissors and its forehead to be pinned through. The small knife had so much force that after penetrating the paper man, it embedded itself into the corridor’s brick wall. The entire wall shook, sending up clouds of pale brick dust throughout the room. Lv Mingkun, having succeeded with one strike, did not pursue the white paper man further nor rushed to merge with the floating human skin, *His thoughts were extremely clear at this moment, with two objectives:* First, to push back the two paper men to prevent them from threatening Zhou Xuan, *Second, to make his methods as fierce as possible, giving Zhou Xuan more time to discern the mystery in the situation with greater precision.* *Lv Mingkun had been operating in the Dark Door for many years, seasoned and perceptive.* If he were reckless, he might not manage the forthcoming changes. "Senior Brother Lv, it’s not just the two paper men, there’s also a wandering soul. All three are under someone’s control," Zhou Xuan pointed to the green-tiled roof of the Clothing Store, "That person is hiding on the roof, on the sixth tile directly above the entrance." He clearly perceived that the two paper men’s bodies were covered with many faint threads, and hidden behind the wall where the corridor entered, there was a wandering soul, floating like a "shadow" of the Zhou Family’s Troupe, This wandering soul also had a thread behind it, just like those on the paper men, with the thread end on the green tile above the house. Thus, Zhou Xuan was confident in deducing that there was someone on the roof controlling the two paper men and the wandering soul. "So it’s a Puppet master’s hall, then it’s straightforward," Lv Mingkun summoned his right hand again, recalling the White Knife pinned to the wall. His body spun in a Yaozi Flips, and after flipping, he kicked the handle of the white knife with his left toe. Following the rotational force, he flung the Black Blade with his right hand. The two knives, one after the other, executed a Thunder Attack towards the sixth tile on the green-tiled roof, aiming to pin the Puppet master of the Ghost hall to the roof. As the Bamboo Leaf Blade was about to fly out of the corridor, the shadow on the wall couldn’t hold back any longer and emerged from the wall, stopping at the corridor’s opening, opening its mouth wide— —the moment the mouth opened, six tusks appeared from within, each as long as a middle finger, spraying tusks at the Bamboo Leaf Blade. Although the clash couldn’t stop Lv Mingkun’s lightning-speed flying knife, it did alter the knives’ paths, The dual knives veered slightly upwards, missing the sixth tile, instead embedding in the third and ninth tiles. The force of the knives was strong, the first knife pierced a hole through the green tile, the second knife punctured another hole. With holes on both sides, the green-tiled roof could not withstand the force and collapsed in large pieces, causing two figures to fall from the rooftop, a man and a woman. The man’s name was Feng Xigui, and the woman’s name was Lin Xia. The two were husband and wife. "Pa!" A sound of the gavel rang out, causing the two to shiver. They stood up wanting to see who the expert challenging them was, but when they looked around, the corridor appeared empty. "Where are they?" Lin Xia looked around but didn’t even see a ghostly shadow, dazed for a moment before realizing—they had entered a dream! *She had previously fought against the storyteller before, with some understanding of "Dream Generation."* *Because she knew, she panicked.* Her hall was "Liao Ghost," skilled in Soul Separation and Puppet techniques, hiding the real body and killing with souls and puppets. Both the puppets and the Soul Separation were not afraid of dreams, for they lacked much consciousness, entirely reliant on the real body’s command. *But if the real body was discovered, it would be the nightmare of a Liao Ghost.* *Now, Lin Xia’s real body had entered the dream, dependent on having a higher Incense Fire Level than the Dream Generation to forcibly escape, which required time.* *Would the opponent with such sharp blades give her the time?* *In the next half a minute, Lin Xia experienced the longest half minute of her life,* continuously wary of the slicer’s Bamboo Leaf Blade piercing through her chest, *even more worried whether a sharp knife would suddenly appear in her husband’s throat.* *Worrying to the point of breaking into a cold sweat, her clothes soaked at the back, clinging tightly to her skin.* "Bang! Bang!" In the dream, suddenly two hands appeared, fingers bent, knocking on the back of her and her husband Feng Xigui’s heads. "You two, see clearly before you take action in the future. Even great waters can flood the Dragon King’s temple!" After a young voice sounded, those hands gave another couple of knocks. With the sound of a gavel, the dream was dispelled, leaving Zhou Xuan standing in front of Feng Xigui and Lin Xia, giving each of them another knock, causing them to nod like chickens pecking rice. "Look carefully, see who I am!" Feng Xigui, in pain, covered his head, and upon recognizing Zhou Xuan, joyfully said, "So it is our benefactor! Xia Er, this is the benefactor I’ve told you about, Zhou Xuan. It was him who helped our daughter pass on..." Feng Xigui was a major broker in the Ping Shui Prefecture, and his daughter had died at the hands of kidnappers. Later, her spirit developed an obsession, turning into an Evil Ghost, and returned home, but her mouth was sewn shut, unable to speak her obsession. Zhou Xuan helped resolve the obsession and guided her spirit to the afterlife. "Oh my!" Lin Xia slapped herself on the head several times and said, "I actually thought you two were here to buy goods from a kidnapper... We almost injured our benefactor by mistake..." "You call that a mistake?" Zhou Xuan pointed at the staff whose head had been cut off by the paper men and said, "If not for us brothers having some Dao level, even our heads would have been snipped by you two..." Lin Xia, though quite pretty, was somewhat simple-minded, touching her head and said fearfully, "Had the benefactor not recognized us as a couple, it’s likely your head wouldn’t be snipped off, but ours could’ve been lost instead." *A Liao Ghost’s real body having entered a dream already meant being a lamb for the slaughter, had Zhou Xuan not held back...* "Benefactor, this lucky encounter today is a stroke of luck for us two. Would you do us the honor of joining us at the Mingdong Restaurant for a meal, so we can thank you in person for your kindness?" "No time; I’m here to buy some goods," Zhou Xuan said. "What goods does the benefactor wish to buy?" "Bones and human skin... I haven’t secured them yet, as you’ve killed all the underground dealers." "May I ask what purpose the bones are for crafting a magic artifact? I might help in finding them for you." Lin Xia spoke sincerely. "To make Root Bone Needles," Zhou Xuan indicated the length and thickness of the Bone Needle. "Consider the Bone Needles on me; human skin is also quite easy to obtain." Lin Xia pledged with confidence. "Really?" Zhou Xuan asked Lin Xia. "Rest assured, top-quality goods," Lin Xia replied. ... With Lin Xia and Feng Xigui handling the "goods," both Zhou Xuan and Lv Mingkun were considerably relieved. Lv Mingkun was unfamiliar with the Mingjiang Prefecture, knowing only places to buy "small goods," and Zhou Xuan was prepared to visit several underground markets. Now, they were spared much legwork. In a private room on the top floor of the Mingdong Restaurant, Lin Xia raised a glass of wine and toasted to Zhou Xuan, "Benefactor, ever since you guided our daughter to the afterlife, we have always kept your kindness in mind. I toast to you." Feng Xigui also said, "Last time we heard of your passing in the Mingjiang Prefecture, we secretly wept for several days, planning to take the train back to the Ping Shui Prefecture to attend your funeral. Just as we boarded, we heard you were alive again, finally putting our minds at ease..." Zhou Xuan raised his wine glass and drank it in one go, saying, "I heard about your news in Mingjiang Prefecture. You’ve been eliminating kidnappers everywhere?" "The kidnappers are well-hidden, and three top experts, the Dog King your master killed, and Chun Meng was unknown who acted kindly to slay him, dying miserably. Now we are destroying the kidnappers’ dens everywhere to force Yan Zhongdao out!" "And then?" Zhou Xuan inquired. "Severing the key connections of the Kidnapper’s Hall, forcing Food Heaven out!" Lin Xia’s target was the Alien Ghost "Food Heaven" linked to the kidnappers behind the scenes. "What is your incense level?" Zhou Xuan questioned. "Not high, sitting at four, looking toward five," Lin Xia replied. "That shouldn’t be higher than Food Heaven, right?" "Far off," Lin Xia said: "From the information I gathered, Food Heaven’s six incense is about to become, in early incense fire, the difference is not much. After four incense, each more is a several-grade difference." "So after you find Food Heaven, won’t you still be at a disadvantage?" "We are not just one person; we’re a hall," Lin Xia said, "Half the disciples of Liao Ghost Hall have entered Mingjiang Prefecture, the remaining disciples will still enter in secret." Zhou Xuan frowned deeply at this; for their daughter’s revenge, this couple was able to gather so many people? Or were the disciples of Liao Ghost Hall exceptionally united? "Mainly because my father... was the previous Hall Master of Liao Ghost," Lin Xia said with a silly smile. "..." Zhou Xuan. *Turns out it’s a ghost second generation, no wonder they dare to fight so desperately against the kidnappers...*